Listen as Judy recalls memories of a grandma who ran a local lunch counter, food memories of growing up in small Western Montana town, and her recollections of one of her favorite recipes, her Grandma Kennedy’s Fried Chicken.
Reconnecting with Childhood and Family
For Judy Van Leuven, her Grandma Kennedy’s Fried Chicken recipe is a way to reconnect with her childhood and family. It’s a recipe that appeared on the Sunday Supper table every week, but never on a recipe card.
Listen as Judy recalls memories of a grandma who ran a local lunch counter, food memories of growing up in small Western Montana town, and her recollections of one of her favorite recipes.
Episode Transcript
🎧 Click here for the full, interactive transcript of this episode 🎧
Thank you to our Sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for keeping my pantry full of fabulous flours and baking products!
Grandma Kennedy’s Fried Chicken
This recipe for fried chicken has been described as “the best on the entire planet”. It’s hard to argue with a recipe that’s been made as many times as this one has.
Ingredients
1 - 3 pound whole chicken broken down
2 cups buttermilk
1 onion thinly sliced
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika
Crisco or other vegetable shortening plus bacon grease OR peanut oil for frying
Instructions
Pat chicken dry and place in a large non-reactive bowl. Pour buttermilk over the top, add onions and stir until the chicken is coated and the onions are distributed.
Cover and refrigerate over night.
Combine the flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika in a shallow pan. To make it like Grandma Kennedy did, place the flour mixture into a large brown paper bag.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and dredge in the flour mixture OR place in the paper bag and shake to coat the chicken. You may have to work in batches to do this.
Shake off any excess flour and transfer to a plate.
In a 12-inch cast iron skillet, melt the Crisco and bacon grease combination so that you have about 1” of fat in the skillet. Alternately, pour 1” of oil in the skillet. Heat until a bread crumb sizzles on contact, or and instant read thermometer reads 360˚F.
Working in batches, place the chicken in the skillet skin side down. Allow to fry for 3 minutes before turning. Turn every 2 minutes to ensure even browning until cooked through, about 11 - 12 minutes.
Transfer to a cooling rack placed on a sheet pan, and continue frying the rest of the chicken.
Serve with your favorite fried chicken sides.
Let’s Connect!
Find me on Instagram @leigh_olson, join the Family Recipes, Traditions, and Food Lore community on Facebook, or subscribe to The Heritage Cookbook Project.
Do you have a recipe, tradition, or story to share? Send me an email at connect@theheritagecookbookproject.com.
If you would like to further support this project, there are a couple of ways that you can become a patron subscriber. Choose one of the paid tiers here, purchase something from my Amazon wish list, or buy me a tea - I know it says Buy Me a Coffee, but I’m a tea gal.
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
EP 10: Fried Chicken and Lunch Counters